Halfmetal Legacy: All Eras Must End
by Terra Alchemist
Summary: Years into the future, secondborn children are being hunted down by the military, and Eric Lee Elric is one such child. Roy Mustang is gone forever and the rest of the heroes of old have disappeared. Third in the Halfmetal Series.
1. Prologue: Eric's Journal

**_ALL ERAS MUST END_**

_My name is Eric Lee Elric. I'm not exactly sure why I'm writing in this book now, when so many things have happened already. It strikes me that it may be a little late to start. But maybe it's too late to write as well. But it's better that I write at all so that someday, someone will pick this up and know what happened. Let me describe what it looks like now... when I look up I see grey, it's grey, black and bleak. Raine, Raine Havoc and I are hiding underneath an abandoned train. It doesn't look like it's moved in years, it's rusting, old and decrepit. The sky is like the prelude to a storm, only the storm is perpetual. I've known no other sky than the one I see now or rather, I recall no other sky than this one. Raine is sleeping next to me, and she should rest while she can... who knows when we'll have to get up and run again._

_A little about me now... I already told you my name is Eric Lee Elric; my father's name is Edward Elric, and his father before him was Edward Elric as well. My father was the Halfmetal Alchemist, my grandfather the Fullmetal Alchemist. I have two famous grandfathers, but I never saw my paternal grandfather, and my maternal grandfather, Roy Mustang, died a bit after I was born. Well, he's not exactly my grandfather, his sister is my dad's mom. So I guess he's a great-uncle or something along those lines. I remember my father a little... He's a bit of a war hero... Something about guarding some Rivantian princess and fighting with Falconans. I don't really get it, and I never got the chance to ask, it was before I was born_

_My father was taken away when I was little; something about the military instating some rule that every second born child was to be taken to some facility. My father hid me; my mother and sister, Aria, died in a trainwreck, and I'm technically the younger twin anyway. It turns out that they took almost everyone we knew; my father, my grandfather even though he's not a second child, his brother Alphonse... Uncle Leroy disappeared somewhere around that time period too. Even Raine's grandpa, Jean Havoc, was taken away._

_I heard they're killed, I'm not sure why they do it. Raine and I, we don't know who to go to for help, we don't know where to turn. _

_So we just run, and we hope that none of the soldiers will catch us until someone can help us. Whoever that is. We pose as regular people, but even that doesn't last long... I don't know how much longer we can go, I mean, we're just kids!_

_But we don't want to die either._

_Raine and I are... going to try to find people to help us, try to figure out why they're killing us in the first place, but we just don't know how... If anyone finds this... I hope someone finds this... please help us..._

_We don't know how much longer we can keep running from the military. We keep going and going and they keep finding us, and we continue to escape. Why isn't anyone helping us? What about the allies that Dad used to talk about? Rivant? Falcona? Why can't they help us? We're on our way, as soon as Raine wakes up, to talk to someone named... Joaquin Mustang. It may be a coincedence, the name Mustang, but I don't know. This could be a trap to finally get us at last, but we've no other place to go, and Raine is getting weaker. I can't let her go too..._

_Dad used to say that the military was a great one before the Fuhrer Bradley, and it was a great one when Great-Uncle Roy Mustang took over as Fuhrer as well, but then... something changed. Dad always used to say that all eras must end. _

_Is this the beginning of a horrible new one?_


	2. Maes Hughes and Alia Farman

**_All Eras Must End_**

**_Chapter 1: Maes Hughes and Alia Farman_**

Eric sat back in his seat on the train, holding onto the rest so he wouldn't jolt so much from the rocking of the vehicle. Raine was sitting next to him chewing on something or the other as usual, pushing her blonde hair out of her blue eyes. Eric sighed and watched as his breath fogged up the window and the bleakness of the sky and land disappeared into a whiteness, then reappeared again. Eric had never seen snow, snow or sunshine. All he had ever seen was this weather condition that could only be described as perpetually dead.

He saw military men hustling around on the ground further down, and his stomach knotted in fear. What if they were searching for him and Raine? He looked at Raine again and discovered that she had nodded off to sleep, a piece of straw still dangling from her mouth. 'She must look like her grandpa,' Eric thought before leaning back into his seat again. He had managed to get an address book for East City from one of the passengers on the train and flipped throughthe 'M's feverishly.

His finger went down the page and abruptly stopped, his amber eyes sliding over to Raine. "Raine!" he whispered, not wanting to garner any attention from the other passengers. "Raine!" He whispered more urgently. Raine twitched in her sleep and opened one sleepy blue eye. "What, Eric?" she asked. She was the younger of the two, only ten years old while Eric was two years her senior.

"I found him; that man, Joaquin Mustang!" Raine shifted and looked at the book where his finger pointed. "That's a funny name... Joaquin. Jo-a-quin," she said, pronouncing the 'J'. "J is silent, Raine, you say it like... Yo-a-quin."

"Oh, okay. So is there any information on him?" she asked.

Eric read the column next to it. "It says here he's eighteen years old, froma foreign country. He lives with two other people, a nineteen year old named Maes Hughes II, and Maes's wife Alia Farman. This seems odd to me, because the address he's listed under is obviously the Mustang Family Mansion. So wouldn't the other two be living with him, and shouldn't he be a native of Amestris?" Raine shrugged and thought. "I guess so, but we're not in the position to ask questions..."

Eric nodded. "Yeah, you're right. It says here that he holds a very high place in the country of Rivant, which must be where he's from, and he's got family in high places. He's also a First-Born..."

"But that's bad, Eric... if he's First-Born, won't he try to turn us in?"

"We don't have any choice, Raine, we have to go see him. First-Born or not. Now get your bag, we're at East City." Raine picked up her bag obediantly and Eric handed the address book back to the man he had borrowed it from, shouldering his own bag. They departed from the train and stood in the station surrounded by hundreds of people. Raine froze, clutching Eric's hand tightly. "There are so many First-Borns, Eric..." Eric squeezed her hand and took a few steps forward. "It's okay; if we just blend in we won't be stopped."

They walked as quickly as they could from the station, hearts pounding all the way. "Where did the book say Mr.Joaquin lived?" Raine asked Eric, chewing harder at the straw. "It said he lived in a mansion on the outskirts of town; shouldn't be very hard to find."

Maes Hughes II stopped abruptly when he heard that end of the conversation, and he tapped Alia's shoulder gently. She turned and looked him in the eyes, and then back to where his eyes were tilted. Alia shook her head and Maes frowned, going to a phone booth and dialing a number. It rang four times and someone picked up, a voice that was deep and a bit gruff. "Hello?"

"Joaquin, it's Maes."

"What's up, Maes? Did you spot trouble?"

"I'm not exactly sure; there are two kids looking for your mansion."

"Guess on their ages."

"I'd say the girl is somewhere between eight to eleven, the boy could be anywhere from ten to fourteen."

"I don't think that's trouble... if it is, then I'll have no choice but to torch them both."

"You won't act too quickly, Joaquin?"

"I won't, I never do."

"Good, keep yourself safe, Joaquin."

A snort from the other end. "Me? I'm worried more about you and Alia; Alia especially." Maes nodded.

"You like Alia, eh?"

"Hey, if you like her first then I'll back off, Maes. Technically, you two are married."

"It was just a cover to bring her over here, you know that. It would have been too suspicious if you had married her, being the recluse that you are."

"I'm not a recluse, Maes, you know how much I hate being cooped up in here."

"Yes, it's quite a change from being the tactical commander for Rivant's army, isn't it?"

"It is, but I also find this a more worthy cause. You can't say Father wasn't eager to let me help, but Mother won't let him go. James was disappointed as well, Mother didn't let him either."

"Why not your old man?"

"Why? I dunno. The only reason I gotout at all was because Father distracted Mother for the entire night so I could escape. Suits me fine, but Mother's probably furious."

"I'd bet on that. You want to talk to Alia, Joaquin?"

"Sure; you sure about this Maes?"

"I told you, Joaquin, the only attachment I have to Alia is not of the intimate-lover type."

"If you say so, Maes. Alright, I'll talk. Oh, wait, on second thought... I'd better get the guys covered, so just come back will you? If those two are still in sight, escort them over here."

"Will do, Joaquin," Maes said, putting down the phone.

"Joaquin says to escort them down, Alia."

"Alright then, they're still getting lost so let's guide them." She walked up to Eric and put a hand on his shoulder gently. Eric jumped and whirled around, and Raine scampered behind him. "Hey, it's okay! Are you two looking for something?" she asked, trying to comfort them.

Eric stared at her for a moment, but then a shaking hand went to his pocket and retrieved a scrap of paper he had written on. She took it from him and read it. "Oh, you're looking for Joaquin... Maes and I will take you there." She signalled toMaes and he stood next to her, and Eric shot a glance to Raine, who nodded discreetly.

Maes started to walk to the western gate of East City, and Alia followed him. Eric looked at Raine, and Raine nodded again. "This is the best chance we've got, Eric."

* * *

Yay, four reviews! I'm not exactly sure what's spurring me to write this fic, but I like it so far. This takes place years after Halfmetal Alchemist, but you don't necessarily have to read that to enjoy this, because I'll fill in any knowledge gaps along the way. In fact, I shouldn't be writing this because thisgives some insight as to what will happen in Halfmetal Guardian, which hasn't even been posted on FFNet yet, so I guess this will contain some Halfmetal Alchemist, Halfmetal Guardian spoilers. This will actually contain a **BIG **spoiler for Roy and has already revealed a bit about Halfmetal, not much though.

-T A


	3. Joaquin

**_All Eras Must End_**

**_3: Joaquin_**

Joaquin raised an eyebrow, amused, as he saw Maes and Alia escort a twelve and ten year old towards his mansion. He chuckled to himself softly at the expression on Maes's face, sipping at a glass of wine in his hand. He had never been much of a drinker; oh but he had the head for it. It was simply personal preference that he refused to indulge himself, it fogged up the mind entirely too much for his liking, though his father had said that the rest of the family had no problem in risking a few bottles. He frowned a bit, but not much, lost in his own thoughts. He did not know how he would react to these two newcomers, young children, as it were. He knew possible solutions, possible outcomes, but how to approach children, who were usually innocent and free of chains of hatred and spite, he knew not how to deal with.

He could deal with adults twice his age, three times his age, yes, but not with the confusing innocence of a child.

It was times like these that he wished he had the advice of an older man, a man who had seen more of the world than he had in his eighteen years, to guide him through trials like these. His father was out of the question, though he was more than capable of deducing problamatic situations, his mannerisms were rough, straight-forward, and to-the-point. It was not the way that Joaquin found best to do tricky business, and it was this way, he thought, that he and his grandsire were most alike. He wished he could have met the man himself, but he had died years before Joaquin's birth.

Another regretful loss... regretful indeed.

It was obvious that Maes was also inept at understanding children. Being a year older than himself, he had always expected Maes to know just a bit more than he did, though his close friend didn't outstrip him by much. Joaquin wondered if Maes really did have feelings for Alia. If so, then it would be unwise to share his own feelings.

He shook his head vigorously. This was not something to think about in the tactical state of mind, it had to be thought of from the heart. Or so his father liked to emphasize. Joaquin thought that maybe he had had a point. A tactical commander did have more things to think about than strategies, life, and death. There were also the small things that life offered, even if they were few and far apart. He must confront Maes about it later and sort the matter out, bring it to light once and for all. Then maybe...

He put the glass down on the expansive porch railing, folding his arms over his chest. He had had many problems in Rivant about his face, his body as a whole. The problem to the people was that he looked entirely too much like an Amestran, not enough like a Rivantian. They talked as if he could help the fact he was only half-and-half, that he could help that he looked more like his father than his mother. If they wanted the Heir Apparent to look like a bloody Rivantian, then they could bypass him and elect James as the heir to the damn throne, James who looked like his mother and was enough bloody Rivantian to please the public.

The irritation from his thoughts must have shown on his face because Maes gave him an odd look and Alia looked concerned. He smoothed over his features and regarded the two children, calculating.

They looked small and thin, blonde, the two of them, one of amber eyes, the other blue. One girl and one boy, small and thin, afraid, haggard, tired. They were second borns alright, genuine the pair of them. He sighed and opened the door to the mansion, a large ornate affair of wood and metal work, done ages ago but by the upkeep looked new. He picked the glass off of the porch and gestured for them to step inside. The boy's eyes were drawn to a insignia on his coat shoulder. Joaquin noticed the object of the boy's curiousity and plucked at it.

"This signifies my position as Heir to the Flame, the Mustang Family line."

"You would do well to keep that little fact quiet, Sir," Alia murmured quietly, her green eyes never moving from his.

"I agree, Joaquin, it would not be wise for the military to find out you're a Mustang," Maes murmured. Joaquin shrugged. "First and foremost, I am Mustang. Only after that am I Rivant. I will not deny who I am. To do so would dishonor the men who gave their lives to keep the family alive."

"You speak as if you're the only one left in the Mustang line, Sir."

"Perhaps, in a sense, I am. James takes no pride in being of the Mustang line. For that I cannot blame him, he's just a child, but he can't understand the magnitude, the measure of responsibility that my position recquires. I am solely responsible for carrying this line forward, yet here I am risking life and limb for the country I originate from, the land of my grandfather. Am I rash, do you think? Alia? Maes?"

Maes folded his arms as well, as if thinking. "You are at times, Joaquin, and at times you can bea royal pain in the ass, but beside those times you are also a leader and leaders must think of survival and self-preservation, not so much of nostalgia and ancestral linkage. Also, is that disdain I hear in your voice for James?"

"Not in the slightest," Joaquin replied, slightly indignant. "He's my brother, I love him well. It is with... regret that I express myself."

Maes sighed. His friend could be a royal pain in the ass.

"I'm sure James misses you, Joaquin."

"I'm sure he does too; I write whenI can, and to father sometimes as well."

"Why not to your mother, Joaquin?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? She'll get my uncle to put a binding and tracking Jutsu on the letter so she can incapacitate me and track me down here. The end result would be my forceful removal from Amestris to back home."

Alia stifled a laugh. "That does sound like your mother, Sir..."

"She can be a regular witch when she wants to be..." Joaquin muttered. "But enough about me, how about our two newcomers?"

The two kids jumped.

"Names?" Joaquin asked.

"Um... Eric... Lee Elric... and this is Raine Havoc."

"Elric and Havoc. Alright. You have family cooped up in military holding areas, am I correct? Specify who, if you can."

"I-I... my dad is in there... and my grandfather and his brother... and my grandmother too..."

"They took Mama and Papa... and Grandpapa too..." Raine sniffed, thinking of her grandfather Jean.

"I see... Elrics and Havocs... those are quite a few. Usually the military takes the ones needed and no more... but according to my references... Edward Elric the First and Jean Havoc are both First-Borns. Something doesn't fit here... Any possible solutions?"

"The exploits of Edward Elric the First and Jean Havoc are famous, both having been in the original war under your grandsire, Roy Mustang, to wrench power from the grasp of Fuhrer King Bradley during the second Ishbal War. After that, they were also participants in the War of Memories, the war between Amestris, Falcona, and Rivant, but I'm sure you know of that war, Joaquin?"

"Of course. My parents were married soon after as a result of that war, I was born a year later. Maes was born right before the war ended. It's quite an anomaly, actually. Who knows how much of the detail in that war was made up? It is impossible to bring back the dead, yet they talk like they saw the dead. It makes no sense. Agh! Enough side-tracking.

"You two! Do you want to help abolish the rule of second-born children?"

Raine and Eric nodded hesitantly.

"Then you're among friends here; here is the offensive-branch of the rebel 'Liberators', though I disagree with the term that they gave us, the 'Crusaders'. My branch is devoted to pure offense, meaning that any disruption you've heard of in military facilities was done by me."

"But if it's a... branch... shouldn't there be more people? The house looks empty," Eric pointed out, and Raine nodded in agreement.

"Ah, but you should never think an empty house is truly empty," Joaquin said, pulling up some floor tiles to reveal an alchemical array. He put his hands to it and it glowed, the metal spots in the stone converging to form a hinge and a handle. Joaquin reached down and pulled it up, revealing a whole underground equivalent of the mansion.

"This is our stronghold, this is a place that even the military cannot hope to penetrate."


	4. The SuperNova Cannon

**_All Eras Must End_**

**_Chapter 3: The SuperNova Cannon_**

Eric and Raine gaped openly, and Joaquin allowed a pleased smile to replace the frown on his face. "Impressive, eh?" he asked, and Eric and Raine nodded. Maes looked at Joaquin questioningly and Joaquin shook his head almost imperceptibly. Maes was obviously worried, for what reason Joaquin had not a clue, and Alia was also shifty, but perhaps it was for a different reason...

He shook his head, no time for thoughts like that. Eric pulled at his collar, face flushed. "It's so hot... why is it so hot?" he looked up at Joaquin and the older boy burst into laughter. "Hot? Well, I don't feel a thing. A good reason would be that this is the interior of an active volcano!"

Raine jumped and squeaked, hiding behind Alia and gripping her pant leg tightly. Alia stood stiffly for a moment before bending down slightly to pat her back and get her fingers out of her leg.

"B-but..."

"Oh don't worry, it's not due to erupt any time soon, my father made sure of that. It's a bit of a family custom, if an odd one. You've heard of the line of Flame Alchemists, have you not?"

"Yes... they were a whole family line that became Flame Alchemists for the State. They used fire."

"Yes, and I'm the next in line for that legacy. Unfortunately, I'm also next in line for a high seat in Rivant, and it's conflicting. There also is no respectable Military anymore. Forgive me if my grammar is sometimes a bit off, Rivantian was my first language." He stepped down onto marble steps and pressed his hand onto a transmutation circle that had been inscribed onto a thick slab of black rock next to the entrance.

"This is, as you say, an active volcano. The Mustang family has used it as a training ground for children for as long as the family has been in existance; it is to get used to the heat of using flames in battle, though it does not prepare one for the sheer power and... thoughtless carnage. It truly is a terrible power to use, and usually reserved only as a last resort or as a restraint. I was trained in a place similar to this, but not quite as intense, I'm afraid. As a result, I cannot enter the inner chambers for the sheer heat."

He looked around for a minute, and then back at the children.

"There are rumors that there is someone who has taken residence in here. If there is such a person, he is hiding in the innermost chambers and has not come out for as long as I've been here; about two years. I would advise you not to go anywhere near the center chambers, you might melt."

There was seriousness in his voice and Eric shivered. "Melt? Has anyone...?"

"There have been a few casualties."

"Oh..." Raine gripped harder on Alia and she sighed, picking her up. Eric turned to acquaint himself with the two behind him. "So who are you guys?"

"First Commander Maes Hughes," Maes said.

Joaquin glanced back at him. "His mother is Elysia Hughes, when she got married they decided to keep the name Hughes. You would do well to pay due respect to Maes, he can be awfully short tempered sometimes, and irritating when he wants to be, especially with a blasted camera."

"Thank you, Joaquin," Maes said icily, and Joaquin shrugged. "Just warning them, don't kill the messenger."

"And I'm Second Commander Alia Farman."

"Of a relation to Vato Falman, though I can't be bothered to memorize it. Alia's gentle most of the time, just don't get her angry; she's learned a lot about daggers from Maes and enough about guns from me. And..." he looked like he wanted to say something more, but he closed his mouth again.

"And, Sir?"

"And I wish you would stop calling me 'Sir'."

"That wasn't what you were about to say."

"Does what I was about to say matter?"

"Perhaps, it depends on what it was."

"What I was about to say... can be discussed later," Joaquin breathed out slowly, and Maes raised an eyebrow, leaning over to whisper something to Alia. Eric strained but couldn't catch what they were saying.

"Where are we going?" Raine asked. "It's getting dark, I don't like dark." The straw in her mouth slipped a bit and she clung to Alia a bit tighter.

Joaquin snapped his fingers and suspended it in his cupped hand. "We're almost there, the transmutation circle back there should have alerted the rest that we're coming."

"Mr.Joaquin, if they're commanders, what does that make you?"

Joaquin mouth twisted into a bit of an twisted smile. "What am I? They call me Fuhrer, though I'd much rather they call me leader or something. I have no intention of replacing the current Fuhrer, only of taking him down. Or her."

"Leadership seems to run in your blood, Joaquin. You are the popular choice," Alia said quietly, smiling.

"But I don't want to, I'd much rather see you or Maes as Fuhrer rather than myself. I have enough leadership complexes to worry about, I don't want to be leader of two countries. That would be conflicting, to be sure."

As they entered another chamber, the lights lit up to reveal a crowd of milling soldiers. They stood to attention and saluted, and Joaquin saluted back, permission given to continue with their duties.

"There is one more thing I should show you... but after I show it this initial once, you are never to come back to this room again, ever, not even out of curiousity. If you do, the consequences will be severe." They walked down another long stretch of rock hallway until they were faced by a series of doors, each with a unique lock that seemed to not have any way to open it. Joaquin closed his eyes and held his hands towards the doors, his fingertips pressed against one another. He moved his arms over his head, then in a figure-eight motion, and his hands parted from one another, sweeping to the sides of his body, then over his head again and his hands joined, hands placed against one another, and down in front of his face until the tips of his fingertips were on eyelevel. A blue light glowed on the fingertip of his right index finger and he pointed it to the center of the door. A light flashed from the light to the door, and the door rumbled, slowly seperating into four pieces and pulling away, and the doors behind it did the same. Eric and Raine stared in awe and looked to Maes for explanation.

"It's one of his powers that come with having a Rivantian parent; he's known as the LockSmith in Rivant. He can create indestructable doors, and only he can open them. Quite a nifty talent, actually. Unfortunately, it can be countered by another person with the LockSmith power, though I doubt that there are many of them. LockSmith is an extremely rare power, though I can't say Joaquin used it for the good of the country when we were younger..."

"You were always trying to poke through my stuff, so I put up a wall to stop you; sue me."

"I wishI could, Joaquin."

"Anyway, this... is the one thing that is absolutely off limits. If I see you anywhere _near _that door, I will have to punish you."

"But what's in here, Joaquin?" Raine asked, still clinging to Alia.

"This... is the SuperNova Cannon." It was a giant piece of machinery with a huge barrel; it shone like the sun though there was no light in the room, and a tank next to it was filled with some kind of red viscous liquid that bubbled much like a lavalamp did. If you stared at it long enough, it would turn blue, then green, and maybe even a violet color. The barrel hole was as big as Joaquin, Alia, and Maes standing on top of one another, and about twice as wide; a control box was located high up on the cannon, right before the beginning of the barrel. It looked more like a turret than a cannon, because it's base was attached to the ground rather than mobile like most cannons.

"It was constructed by Lord Seiken Falcon of Falcona; he a technological genius, but I doubt that he ever thought that the gun he had constructed would be this massive and turned into a cannon. I'm a technological buff in my own right, you see. But... I do feel like I'm betraying him, in a way... this weapon... can flatten everyone in West, Central, and East City in a straight line, and then aftershock from the blast might even wipe out South City and cause devastating climate changes in North City, if it isn't blown away by the aftershock as well."

"But why?"

"The levels on it can be changed," Alia assured them, "But it's a last resort weapon. Joaquin hopes to never have a reason to use the SuperNova Cannon on the military." Joaquin sighed.

"This cannon... it can wipe all of Amestris off the map with one misfired shot; it would disentegrate the country and leave nothing but water in it's place. This cannon...

"This cannon must _never _be misused... _ever."_


End file.
